3. I'm writing this in...uh.. [John, where are we?] ...Chicago. Tomorrow we do show 11 of 17, so we're technically on the home stretch. Fist bumps all 'round!

Vaguely Related Aside: We asked the publisher to book us in Hyatt Places whenever possible, because we like the layouts of the rooms & they're usually nice places to stay. (We've had 2 exceptions so far, which I would describe as "olfactory assaults," but only because that sounds nicer than "bogs of eternal stench drowned in Febreeze.")

We also like the continuity, because every Hyatt Place is pretty much exactly the same, right down to the decorative throw pillow on the couch. However, when you get out of bed, stagger to the car, drive eight hours, and then trudge through an identical hallway to take an identical elevator to get to yet another identical room, it can really start messing with your head. The only thing worse is when it's the same room in a mirror-image layout on the opposite side of the hall. (Btw, sudden-onset facial tics aren't permanent, are they?)

Where was I?

Oh, right. Chicago.

4. CW & Epbot fans are the coolest people on Earth.

5. But you already knew that.

6. Saying that you're addicted to Beaver Tails and Poutine while in the U.S. sounds really dirty.

9. I currently have no posts written for CW, which is why I haven't had time to write more here.

10. See how I slipped that excuse in after something funny? So you wouldn't even notice?

11. Brae in Canada brought us Kinder Eggs, a kind of candy that's banned in the U.S. because it's a chocolate egg with a little toy inside. Thereby convincing me that Canada gets ALL the nice things. (We ate ours on the way to the border, so no, we're not felons.)

12. I've had a few people come to the shows in steampunk costumes:

AND I APPROVE.

13. The ladies are SO crushing on John, and John is SO oblivious. It's adorable, but you can bet I'm not letting him out of my sight any time soon. (One woman's mother let slip something like, "She doesn't want cake, she wants JOHN!" while they were at the signing table, and then both the lady AND John blushed and stared at the floor and laughed awkwardly. Like I said: adorable.)

14. Oh! Oh! We saw Ghostbusters on the big screen in Toronto for Halloween night! And it was AWESOME.

Some of you might remember that I've had to avoid movie theaters for some time due to anxiety problems, but I was determined to risk it for my love of the 'busters. The last movie I saw in a theater was the re-release of Back to the Future last year, and I barely made it through even with meds that made me all dopey. This time, however, I made it med-free and with only minimal discomfort. That is HUGE for me, and I credit true love. And earplugs. But mostly true love.

Another Vaguely Related Aside: There was a friendly stray outside the restaurant in Ohio where we had dinner, so John and I stood for ten minutes in the freezing night air making fools of ourselves baby-talking to it. People walking by gave us really wide berths. Like it's weird for two grown adults to be all "who's a boopsy widdle wover?!" ing to a stray cat outside at night in front of a nice Italian restaurant. Sheesh.

Hooray! Good to hear from you, and I'm glad you are both staying healthy. I can't even imaging spending that long in hotel rooms, and I think the identicalness would drive me batty, too.

And yes, I can certainly understand why people are crushing on John. He's very handsome and you talk about how well you work together a lot -- have I mentioned how nice it is to hear about y'all's obviously excellent relationship? Serious warmfuzzies here, Jen. :) There is a distinct lack of good relationship models out there, and you guys are one for me for certain.

I am a long time reader of CW and I just wanted to say you are awesome Jen! And what finally prompted me to comment was you talking about Kinder Eggs. They are sold pretty much everywhere in the world except for the U.S. which is very very sad. (I fell in love with them as a kid when my family lived in Germany) However now you can find Kinder chocolate bars at a lot of places and other kinder products like "happy hippos" which are very delicious. We Americans just miss out on all the fun toys.

I sent an e-mail, I have a pile of pennies.... and some few other coins done on what appears to be the RR track, which is perfectly okay around here since you can (literally) walk faster than the train.

THAT'S why I can't find Kinder Eggs here. They didn't used to be banned. We bought them at German stores all the time... But now I understand. Some person in the government thought that we'd all be too stupid to realize there is a toy inside the candy because we were too busy gorging ourselves on the (obviously) hollow egg. Hmm... I just had a flash back to all those king cake posts...

Glad to hear you both are disease free so far! Have a safe rest of the tour trip!

My friend and I are so excited that you guys had a stop here in the Chicago area. We are most definitely coming tomorrow! I can't wait to finally meet you and partake in all the fun! My friend even made a cupcake to enter in the contest tomorrow.

P.S. As I am posting this, it's just turning 11pm, so I'm thinking that your computer or whatever is still set on Eastern time.

You can TOTALLY get Kinder eggs in the US, banned or not! I'm a big addict of them and used to get them all the time until I cut myself off.

I get mine either at a Turkish deli or a German deli here in Portland. Just start stopping by foreign delis or groceries until you find them. I also highly recommend looking at all the past series' online. I usually browse on Ebay. There are two huge LOTR series'. Tiny Galadriel complete with gazing bowl! Total geek glee!

I can't wait until Monday & my friend, Heather & I are going to be there at STL! :) Oh and my mother-in-law & sister-in-law. We had a Victorian tea at my church today & my mother-in-law said "Hey, I wonder how I could turn this into a steampunk outfit. I doubt I have time before MOnday, though." LOL Love it! :)

It was so awesome seeing you guys at Ghostbusters AND at the book signing the day after! I'm glad Canada proved itself worthy of Jen and john hahahaAlso, if we find out our friends arnt getting married on an inconvenient date and make it to Dragon*con again next year I will bring the makings of poutine for you guys, deal?

I am so angry with my sister-in-law for having a baby shower for her sister on the same day you're in Winnetka! :( So I'm gonna miss you, and John, and cake. *sob* (I can only pray that there will be wrecked cake at the shower I can take pics of to share with the class.)

Hope you have a GREAT time in Chicagoish, and now I'm totally psyched by steampunk ornaments!

*sputter* I must live under a rock because I had no idea you were in Toronto!!!! I'm sooo upset because I've been on vacation all week and I could have come and seen you guys if you were signing....ughughughughughguhgh. I'm probably a little more upset about this than I should be, but my Husband woke me up at 6am on my last day of vacation...because he could :(

We got Kinder Eggs for the children when we were in Ireland and Husband remembered them from when he lived in Germany as a child (military family). I wasn't fond of the chocolate flavor (I'm not big on chocolate) but the toys inside were so clever!

Glad your trip is ER-free so far. And it sounds like your tour is going good so far. On a selfish note, I hope it stays that way for at least the next week. I'm going to drive to houston to see y'all next week. I'm seriously excited. (My husband thinks I'm demented - he just doesn't get it.)

Well, of COURSE John is oblivious. That's why the women are crushing. If he was convinced of his awesomeness, they'd not be so interested. :) Besides, what's not to like about a cute, handy, geeky husband? I have one of those and don't let him out of my sight, either.

And Kinder Eggs are a huge joke around my house -- whenever the boy and I get them, he always gets a really crappy toy and I get something awesome with moving parts and decals. There's a little store in CT that sells them illicitly..

Glad you're letting us know you're alive. Good luck on the rest of the tour!

I'm totally stoked to see you guys today! I'm not gonna lie...I was feeling a little stalktastic after driving half a day to be here yesterday, but I take comfort today in the fact that at least I didn't try to stay at the same hotel as you. That's a little less creeperific, right? I like to think so.

Really, can't wait to see you, and glad your travels thus far have been smooth. :)

Completely agree about the poutine and Beaver Tails. SO GOOD, but not so good for you! Doesn't help that poutine is on every menu here (here being Northern Canada) and you can make your side of fries to poutine for usually $2.

I had my first Beaver Tail in Ottawa a few years ago and was glad they weren't anywhere near me otherwise my waist line would have hated me for it. However, they have made their way to my town.. Thankfully only in the summer. :)

Can't wait until Friday in Dallas(ish)! I am going to wear my cupcake thermal shirt if I can sit down for 10 minutes to sew it together - I've only had it cut out for a year...I'm so awful about sewing for myself since I do it for a living. -sheepish grin-

I totally understand the weirdness of the hotel layouts being so similar. Film crew basecamps are always set up in a familiar layout and sometimes I forget which wardrobe trailer interior I will see when I walk through the door (since they all look bascially the same from the outside). And when the parking lot makes the Teamsters set up the trailers in a different order, it messes with you all day!

How freaky is this? I'm working on a Steampunk Christmas ornament right now. (Wait 'til you see the Cake Wrecks one...) If it turns out, I'll bring it to the signing in Houston. (Be kind -- it's the first one I've tried...)

Good to hear from you and glad your trip is going well. #6 I'm next looking up Beaver Tails as I'm clueless on this.#11 KinderEggs are cool. Banned in the US. PPbbtt! Parents ought to know when their kid is ready for a chocolate treat without eating the tiny toy. That thinking is what led to dull Crackerjack prizes. Again, I say, Pbbbttt!#13 I was kinda hoping John had an unmarried brother.#15 Thanks for posting on FB my homage to your kitties from the Charlotte(ish) stop. The night before I was trying to come up with a new treat for my class. It was more difficult than I thought it would be. Since they were cats, cake, and turned out more than a little wrecky I thought I'd bring them along--even though technically they weren't wrecks for the contest. I figured by stop 2 you would be missing your cats. Hope the rest of the tour goes well and you and John stay well too!

Glad to hear that you guys are enjoying your tour so far! It was *so* awesome to meet you in Pittsburgh. You and john talk about what a nice corner of the Internet you guys have, but I think that YOU have a lot to do with that!! Seriously cutest couple I've ever met. (and btw did u get married at 15, b/c neither one of u look a day over 28!!) The natural back and forth was really neat to see, not forced, not fake PDA-ish, just good old fashioned teamwork. Heads up to everyone going to the next few tours, get there early- my sister and I were there 2 hrs early, and Jen and john chatted away with us and everyone else there. One of the most fun nights I've had a in a LOOONGGG time and the cake was unreal too. (shout out 2 Tammy @ Faithfully Cakes!) Thanks again guys, hope 2 catch you on the next tour!! :-)

Congrats on overcoming the anxiety for a night. And I mean that in total seriousness; as someone whose partner suffers very severe anxiety and panic, and as someone who has steadily worsening anxiety disorder of my own, I know hwo even being able to do something for a night without it is great!

Steampunk Christmas ornaments sound AWESOME. Someday I will have all the wonderful steampunk decor I desire. Someday.

Dear Jen, I sympathize with the theatre problem. My daughter has always had a problem with going to the movies and I was just going to suggest what you said about the earplugs. The movie is still perfectly audible, but the noise level is softened. With the earplugs the noise didn't make her so sick and anxious. Hang in there with the earplugs and put them on before the previews begin.

Best wishes that you manage the rest of the tour as well as you have done the first. ~fist bump~

My grandmother used to bring me Kinder eggs from Hungary when I was little. Imagine my shock and glee when I found them being sold at a small Middle Eastern market down the street from my apartment in California!

Whether you post once a month or once a day (or once an hour!) I'm just happy about it! Glad you're both keeping healthy.The costumes on those kids were fantastic! That is a time-turner the girl is wearing around her neck! Awesome! I was talking to them a bit and the boy said that no one at his school knew what his costume was. What?! This signals a tragic gap in the education system, don't you think? Also, (we thought this was pretty cool) see the boy in the background just behind the girl's wing? That's my son!

Also, so are Kinder Surprise Eggs. I briefly lived in London, and I ate like twenty a week. and then I put all the toys on ornament hooks, because it's just not Christmas without a puking bucket, an evil, maniacal Cardinal, and really, really un-P.C. mariachi men (I collected the whole band).

As someone who lives close to the Canadian border and who also happens to LOVE Kinder Eggs...

You can bring them across the border as long as it is for personal use (aka one per person in the car) and not resale. Which means that if you bought a case of them at Costco for your own personal belly, they don't believe you and take them away. It was a sad day.

Thanks for posting, I needed an Epbot fix! ;)And I don't know if they are the same thing, but I remember getting Beaver Tails at "Canada" in EPCOT last time I was there (which was years ago). They were SO yummy!

Excuse me for sounding a bit stalkery, but I noticed you have a day off between Fairview and Houston, and I wanted to suggest a jaunt over to Fort Worth for the Funky Finds craft show: http://funkyfinds.com/events/experience/2011/ I'm not at all associated with FF; I'm just a sci-fi geek and crafty lady who thought a kindred spirit might enjoy it (plus I like to show visitors that there are awesome things to do, see, and of course eat in the Dallas area).

Jen, don't forget Jill from St. Louis. Does he still have her name on his hand? Did he ever get her number. Making my daughter squeal was the best. "Don't blink" made her evening. Now she's stressing over psychology and college visits. Yes, poutine and Tim Hortons too, although you can get than in some border states. Happy trails as you finish the tour.

Yummy to beavertails, not so much to Poutine. Loved seeing you in Toronto, sorry I couldn't stay longer for the free cake. You and John seem like such great people. Glad to hear your trip isn't a deathtrap and looking forward to your regular posts again!

I was so upset that I couldn't make it to see you in Pittsburgh. I checked out the review of the night by Tammy at Faithfully Cakes....and won the signed copy of your book!!! Yay! Not nearly as good as meeting you and John....but I am really enjoying it =) Thank you!

So glad that you were able to enjoy some of the truly Canadian foods we have to offer! Thanks for making it up "north", now if we could only get you to stray out into the canadian prairies my life would be good! Happy travelling, you guys!

Woohoo Kinder Surprise! => New Zealand name for them. I bought one a few months ago because I hadn't had one since I was a kid. I can't remember what I got inside, but when I was a kid the toys came in a billion pieces and were notoriously hard to put together.

They were so epic, I'm glad you got to experience them.Have an awesome trip!